Gary’s Adds Additional New Jersey Location
Gary Fisch, Market Watch Leader and 2014 “Retailer of the Year,” opened a new unit of Gary’s Wine & Marketplace in Hillsborough, New Jersey, over the summer, after hosting a pop-up store in the location since last December. The 9,000-square-foot store is the chain’s fourth location and offers thousands of beer, wine and spirits SKUs, as well as 700 SKUs of gourmet food, glassware and other items. “Guest response is overwhelmingly positive,” says Fisch, adding that the location is attracting both newcomers and customers who previously visited other Gary’s stores only a few times a year. “They would make the trip as a destination, but now they’re coming in once a week.” Gary’s stocks 750 spirits SKUs, starting at $4.99 a 750-ml. bottle of Dark Eyes vodka and topping out at $2,500 for Louis XIII de Rémy Martin Cognac. The store carries 2,200 wine SKUs, from Arbor Mist ($4.29 a 750-ml. bottle) to Château Léoville Las Cases ($305), as well as proprietary selections, and features a glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled fine wine room for high-end vintages and large-format bottles. Gary’s 1,000-plus beer SKUs start at $3.99 a six-pack of Coors Light and extend to $20.99 a four-pack of Chimay Grande Reserve. Like its sister locations, Gary’s offers free wine and cheese tastings daily and will host special winemaker events throughout the year. Fisch aims to continue growing strategically, although he has no current expansion plans. “We’re constantly looking,” he says.
Tennessee Store Offers Shopper-Friendly Vibe
Doc’s Wine, Spirits & More opened in Memphis, Tennessee, this summer. Anticipating the arrival of wine sales in Tennessee grocery stores next July, Doc’s features specialized selections and major brands. “We’ve adopted a different model,” says general manager Ryan Gill. “Our product mix isn’t just high-end and eclectic offerings that the grocery stores won’t have, but also familiar labels like those from Gallo and Constellation. We’re really aggressive on pricing.” Doc’s offers 1,000 spirits SKUs that range from Burnett’s vodka ($6.99 a 750-ml. bottle) to The Macallan 25-year-old single malt Scotch whisky ($899.99). The store’s 2,000 wine SKUs start at $4.99 a 750-ml. bottle for Crane Lake Chardonnay and go up to $799.99 for the 2008 Penfolds Grange. Doc’s has 200 beer SKUs that average $10.99 a four-pack or six-pack. With 24 taps available, consumers can fill 16-ounce, 32-ounce and 64-ounce growlers ($1.99 to $15.99) with a variety of national and local craft beers, including offerings from Wiseacre Brewing Co. and Southern Prohibition Brewing. Two taps are dedicated to Doc’s proprietary wines from California’s Brutocao Cellars ($10 to $49.99 a 16-ounce, 32-ounce or 64-ounce growler), and the store has an eight-bottle Vinotemp machine that dispenses samples. Doc’s also stocks local food items like charcuterie and chocolates. The store includes such amenities as a station where customers can smell different wine aromas and live music.
Taproom And Bottle Shop Debuts In Ohio
Ollie’s Place, a full-service taproom with adjoining retail bottle shop from veteran retailers Mike and Donna Schwartz, opened in Dayton, Ohio, in June. The venue “is like a Cracker Barrel for beverage alcohol,” according to general manager and beer curator Gus Stathes. Ollie’s 61 taps and 1,700 beer SKUs focus on regional and local beers; a few wine SKUs are also available. Six-packs range from $7.99 to $11.99, with an average price of $9.99, and any beer can be purchased by the single 12-ounce bottle. Stathes says the current best-seller is Small Town Brewery’s Not Your Father’s alcoholic root beer ($10.99 a six-pack of bottles). Other popular offerings include beers from Dayton’s Warped Wing Brewery, Athens, Ohio’s Jackie O’s Brewery and Munster, Indiana’s 3 Floyds Brewing Co. Any bottle available at retail can be consumed in the taproom for a $2 to $3 corkage fee, while 95 percent of Ollie’s tap beers are available by the growler to take home ($7 to $40 a 32-ounce or 64-ounce growler). The retail side offers five 3-ounce beer samples for $5 every Monday, and Stathes seeks to pour brews that customers may not have tried. “There’s so much good beer out there, I try to educate people about it,” he says.